Close Your Eyes
by xxStargazer
Summary: After the discovery of Klaus and Caroline's pen pal relationship, Tyler gives Caroline an ultimatum: "New Orleans. 3 days. If you come back, I'll know that you chose me." Klaus/Caroline.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Close Your Eyes

By: xxstargazer

Summary: After a conversation with Damon, and the discovery of Klaus and Caroline's pen pal relationship, Tyler gives Caroline an ultimatum: "New Orleans. 3 days. If you come back, I'll know that you chose me." Klaus/Caroline.

* * *

It had been three weeks since Tyler had returned to Mystic Falls; but what he found wasn't what he expected. He expected Stefan and Elena to have worked things out, Damon to still be a douche, Bonnie to be her witchy self, and Caroline to be the accommodating and loving girlfriend that he loved and cared about. However, what he got was the opposite: Stefan and Elena hadn't worked things out-she chose Damon (and he became less of a douche), somehow Stefan turned into a douche, Bonnie was dead, Jeremy was alive, and Caroline-Caroline was distant…somewhat cold even.

He couldn't exactly put his finger on it. She greeted him with love and shed some tears when they reunited, but it oddly felt empty. He tried to ask Stefan, and even Elena about it, but they both were no help. Stefan blew him off, and Elena as usual, was clueless about Caroline's feelings.

As he spaced out, he was unaware that Damon was observing him intently. The older Salvatore was a lot more perceptive than people gave him credit for. He knew exactly what Tyler was thinking, because he had witnessed exactly what he was afraid of.

Taking a sip of his drink, and grabbing a full glass of scotch for Tyler, he went over to the table and sat down across from him.

'_Probably going to get in trouble for this…'_

"Hey hybrid, snap out of it."

Tyler blinked, and looked up into the steely blue eyes of Damon.

"I'm fine, Damon."

The older Salvatore brother shook his head, and gestured over to where the girls were. Caroline and Elena were playing pool and laughing over something Jeremy had just said.

"You're worried about Vampire Barbie, I get it."

Tyler scoffed, and took a sip of his drink, shaking his head.

Damon laughed, and placed a full glass of scotch in front of Tyler. "Hey, I know that we aren't really friends, we're just friends with the same people; however, man-to-man, and the fact that we have helped save the same people, I'm going to tell you something and give you some advice. When a person leaves, someone else is…"

His voice trailed, before emphasizing the next words. "Bound to swoop in."

The hybrid's eyes darkened-he knew exactly what Damon was implying and he did not like it one bit.

"What's your advice then?"

Damon closed his eyes, searching for the right words. Recalling a conversation about Stefan, he knew exactly what to say. It was definitely euphemistic, but maybe it would help Caroline and him.

"Don't underestimate the allure of darkness."

With that comment, Tyler took the full glass of scotch and downed it, while Damon watched in shock.

'_Shit.'_

"Don't do anything stupid, Tyler. I was just trying to help, I've noticed that Blondie has been off too and that-."

Tyler ignored Damon's words and glanced at Caroline, who was still laughing and smiling-yet her smiles were not reaching her eyes like they used to.

"Tell Caroline I have something to do."

Damon sighed, and watched as Tyler walked out of the Grill without as much of a second glance at Caroline.

'_Pal, you better not do something stupid.'_

* * *

He knew he shouldn't have, but he ended up at Caroline's house. Liz wasn't home, and Caroline was at the Grill; it was the perfect opportunity to look for evidence.

The hybrid approached the door, finding the spare key that Caroline hid under the welcome mat. As he grasped the key, he could feel the heaviness in his heart. He knew what he was doing wasn't right, but he needed to settle the uneasiness in his heart.

With a sigh, he opened the door and headed straight to the familiar room upstairs.

* * *

"Where's Tyler, Damon?" Caroline asked, noticing that her boyfriend was nowhere in sight.

Damon laughed uncomfortably, and looked down.

Elena glared at her boyfriend and slapped the side of his arm. "What did you do?"

The older Salvatore narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "I just told him what Blondie should have told him months ago…"

His voice trailed, as he had to dodge Elena's second slap.

"Caroline, on behalf of Damon I apologize for whatever stupid thing he said to Tyler, I swear-"

"What did you say to him, Damon?" Caroline interjected, while taking a step towards Damon, ready to slap him.

Damon got up from the table waving his hands in fear. "Whoa Blondie, calm down. I just told him something that I think applies to him…I mean, you can really blame Stefan because he mentioned something I think is quite quotable and applies to your predicament and-"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY DAMON?!" The blonde huffed, obviously in panic.

He looked at the blonde, and then to Elena who was glaring at him again. "Don't be mad, I didn't know it would have that kind of effect on him, I didn't-"

Elena pinched him, and turned to Caroline. "I'm sorry."

The doppelganger then shifted her attention back to Damon. "Now tell us what you said."

Damon gulped. "I said to not underestimate the allure of darkness." He blurted out quickly.

Caroline stared at Damon before it settled in her mind. She closed her eyes and shook her head before walking out of the Grill without a word to either Damon or Elena.

Elena sighed and once again glared at Damon. "Now look what you did!"

* * *

Caroline hyper-speeded to her house and found that her suspicions were correct-the door was slightly ajar.

She closed her eyes and made her way inside, heading straight up the stairs to her bedroom. As she neared her door, she made sure to walk ever so lightly so that she could peek in before looking.

Honestly, she was afraid of what she was going to see. She just knew she wasn't going to like it, and that deep down she deserved whatever she was going to walk in on.

She had been distant since Tyler had come back, and she didn't know why. She wasn't doing it on purpose; it was just her honest natural reaction. When he kissed her, there were just tiny sparks, not the fireworks that she was used to; when he embraced her, it felt empty; and what's worse is that she felt like their time apart left them with a void that they couldn't seem to fill.

Caroline didn't know what to do with herself. Being with Tyler used to be so carefree, passionate, and easy-but something changed over the last few months.

The baby vampire shrugged, and decided that the best method was to just burst in and accept her fate. She knew Tyler sensed that she was different, but she tried to act her way out of his suspicion and concern. She clearly overestimated her acting abilities.

With a heavy heart she opened the door, and was met with shock, hurt, and anger. Tyler was sitting on her bed, and her room was torn apart. All of her drawers were open, things were on the floor, and there were shreds of paper everywhere.

"What are you doing?" Caroline said calmly, trying her best not to overreact.

Tyler didn't hesitate; he vamp-sped close to her and was holding up pieces of paper with remnants of familiar neat writing on it.

The facade of bravery broke from Caroline's face her poised expression became filled with anger and hurt.

"There are letters...dozens and dozens of letters from Klaus, Caroline! Fucking Klaus!" Tyler screamed in her face.

Her eyes milled with tears, as she angrily picked up all of the shredded pieces of paper and put them back into her hidden box that Tyler had found.

"What are you doing Caroline? They're just stupid pieces of paper with meaningless words from a psychop-"

The blonde shook her head, and slapped Tyler square across the face. "You. Had. No. Right." She said slowly.

Tyler scoffed and laughed bitterly in her face. "Do you think I'm an idiot, Caroline? You've been acting off since I came back, and I knew...I just knew it was because of him."

The blonde bit her lip, trying to stop tears from falling, before responding. "We're just friends Tyler, and before you bring up all of the terrible things he has done...I am going to tell you that I am well aware."

Tyler's bitter laugh returned and he rolled his eyes at Caroline. "He killed my mother, he killed Jenna, and he has tried to kill all of us, including you!"

"Well, you know what? We've done the same. We killed his brother and we tried to kill him and the rest of his family. We've all done terrible things; we're vampires."

The hybrid grabbed her shoulders roughly, but Caroline retaliated and pushed them off of her.

"Look, I love you Tyler. Please stop. I know that you don't like my friendship with Klaus, I've always known that, but think of it as a parallel to Elena and Damon. Like her, I've seen the rare good side of a not so good person." She said firmly.

Tyler turned away from her, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Well, look at how that ended up. Good guy Stefan lost, and the douche won."

"Look at me Tyler." Caroline pleaded.

His back stiffened and he grudgingly turned around to face his girlfriend.

"I love you, but don't think for a second that I forgive you. You had no right to rifle through my things. If you had your suspicions or concerns you should have just talked to me."

Instead of responding he walked over to her, making sure that there was little distance between their bodies.

He looked at her straight in the eyes as if searching for an answer before, speaking.

"Tell me to my face that you don't care about Klaus."

Even though he said 'care', she knew what he is implying.

_Love._

She knew the logical answer, but she froze just a little too much before responding, causing a wave of doubt to show across Tyler's face.

"I don't care about Klaus, Tyler."

Her response was too little, too late. Turning away from her he picked up a familiar sheet of paper and held it in front of her like it was a dog toy.

"If you don't care about Klaus, then why did you keep this...still." He emphasized.

It was the drawing that Klaus had made for her many months ago of her and a horse.

She knew she shouldn't care, but watching her dangle the token of her and Klaus' friendship like it was trash, was making her blood boil. However, she knew she had to quell that feeling inside of her.

_She loved Tyler_, _not Klaus. _

"I don't care Tyler. I love you. Klaus is just a friend." She said, almost too convincingly.

Still obviously mad, Tyler deflected her answer with a spar of his own.

"Then you wouldn't mind if I ripped this."

It was like slow motion as he made the motion to rip, but Caroline stopped him just in time, holding his hands steady in an iron like grip.

They stood there frozen in time, not quite believing what was happening.

After a long period of silence and heated glares, Caroline slowly un-gripped her hands from his, while Tyler let the drawing drop to the floor. Then without another word, he vamp-sped out of Caroline's bedroom, leaving the blonde with her destroyed bedroom, destroyed letters, and a destroyed heart.

* * *

Caroline didn't sleep at all. She kept replaying what happened over and over in her head. It made her furious, hurt, and sad, but most of all, it made her really confused.

She didn't expect to be that upset.

Throughout the night, she kept repeating in her head, "It's just a drawing, it's nothing special or romantic in nature." It was like a mantra that she couldn't quite believe.

The morning sun peaked through her windows and she sighed with frustration.

_*Ding, Dong*_, the doorbell sounded, temporarily interrupting her angsty thoughts.

She opened the door, and her suspicions were correct. Tyler was standing there with an apologetic look on his face.

"Come in." She said quickly.

With silence, Caroline led him to the living room, and he sat down on the opposite couch. They sat there awkwardly, before Caroline cleared her throat.

"So-"

"I wanted to apologize." Tyler interrupted.

Caroline was about to interject, but stopped herself. She saw the serious expression on Tyler's face.

"I'm sorry about destroying your room, and rifling through your letters. I know that I should have talked to you..."

He paused before continuing, looking at Caroline's eyes to try to see if she was accepting his apology.

He was met with understanding, and continued. "However, I am not sorry for accusing you. I know that part of you cares about Klaus, even if you don't realize it."

Caroline looked away and sighed with frustration. "All of this...because of Damon?"

Tyler shook his head, and moved to the couch that she was sitting on.

"I don't care what you say. I've always known, even before he said it."

Caroline was about to interrupt him again, but Tyler silenced her with a chaste kiss.

"Don't argue, just accept my opinion, and my one request from you."

Caroline stiffened, and turned away from Tyler.

She couldn't believe this was happening. Yes, she knew she was "off", but it was obviously because of all of their time spent apart. Not Klaus.

_Most definitely not Klaus._

"In order for us to move forward, I need you to do this. New Orleans. 3 days. If you come back, I'll know that you chose me."

Tears formed in her eyes and she couldn't bear to look at Tyler.

"You're sentencing me to three days in New Orleans because you're insecure?" She said, feeling the anger laced through her words.

She nodded and stepped up from the couch, turning her back to Tyler as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Your tickets on the counter in the kitchen, you leave tomorrow morning and come back on Monday."

With that he brushed past her and headed towards the front door.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked, her voice cracking with hurt.

He gave her a weary smile, before responding. "No one wants to be a second choice, Caroline."


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Close Your Eyes

By: xxstargazer

Summary: After a conversation with Damon, and the discovery of Klaus and Caroline's pen pal relationship, Tyler gives Caroline an ultimatum: "New Orleans. 3 days. If you come back, I'll know that you chose me." Klaus/Caroline

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, follows, and favorites. I truly appreciate it. Though, like any author, I would appreciate reviews for constructive criticism, especially since this story has gotten more than 300+ visitors. Tell me what you are thinking :)

* * *

Caroline didn't know how to react to what just happened. Tyler, the supposed 'love of her life' basically told her that it was okay if she didn't come back-that it was okay if she stayed with Klaus.

She bit her bottom lip, a bad habit that she did whenever she was frustrated. She just didn't know what to do. She did exactly what was expected of her. She rejected _ALL_ of Klaus' advances. She hadn't faltered once, despite the fact that there was tension.

She wasn't stupid after all, she could feel the chemistry between them both, but she dismissed it. After all she loved Tyler, and Klaus had committed unforgivable acts. Though, she did develop a soft spot for him. No matter what he did to her friends, he put her above everything. In fact, in just a few short months, their unconventional relationship had taken so many different turns. He had went from putting her life in danger twice, to saving her twice; then he helped her with prom, and saved her and her friends at graduation at the last minute.

Caroline sighed and glanced at the box of shredded letters. He had written to her everyday. It was so strange, but their pen-pal relationship was comforting because she felt lonely. Stefan wasn't acting like himself, Elena was far too occupied with Damon, and Bonnie was dead. She felt like she had no one.

_Knock. Knock._ The sound immediately broke the baby vampire from her thoughts.

"Caroline, it's me. Open up."

The blonde opened the door, revealing Elena with an apologetic smile on her face. She immediately hugged her best friend before following her inside the Forbes house.

"Are you okay, Caroline? I know black mascara streaks when I see them. You've been crying." The brunette pointed out.

Caroline sighed and plopped onto the couch before stoically stating: "Tyler is pretty much making me go to New Orleans."

The brunette furrowed her eyebrows and looked at her friend in confusion. "Why would he make you go there?"

The blonde glared at her friend pointedly, hoping she would get the picture without her admitting anything out loud.

"Care, I have no idea. No matter how long you keep glaring at me, I won't get it-"

The blonde shrugged. "He thinks that me and Klaus have a thing." Caroline said quickly, cutting her off.

Elena looked away from her friend for a second, trying to hide her expression.

The blonde shook her head, while reaching for her friends shoulder. "No way Elena, turn around! Please do not tell me you agree with Damon. Elena, I swear to god."

The brunette sighed and turned to face her friend's concerned eyes.

Caroline's heart sank, she knew exactly what her expression meant: she agreed with Damon.

"I swear Elena, if you are agreeing with Damon on account of your freaky sire bond..."

Elena shook her head. "No Care, I'm not. Plus, I've actually thought about this for awhile. You do have feelings towards Klaus, why else would Silas appear to you as him?"

The blonde widened her eyes and shook her head vehemently. "No way, Elena. I've discussed this with you. Silas appeared to me as Klaus, because I fear Klaus."

Elena shrugged and grabbed Caroline's hands. "Listen to me Care, I hate Klaus. I absolutely despise him for all the terrible things that he has done, kind of like how you despise Damon for the same thing. However, I do know that he has shown his good side to you. So I want you to listen to me: Silas did not appear to you as Klaus, because you fear him. He appeared to you as Klaus, because you're afraid of your feelings for him."

Caroline swallowed and looked away from her friend, who was usually clueless about these types of things.

"You need to go to New Orleans, Caroline. For Tyler's sake, and for your own."

The baby vampire couldn't believe her ears. Elena was right. She had to confront her feelings, her relationship with Tyler depended on it, but she still couldn't quite admit it out loud.

"I'm not going." She insisted.

"Whatever you say Caroline, all I am telling you is that you'll regret it and Tyler will resent you."

Caroline huffed. "Well, Stefan resents you and he was the supposed 'love of your life.' So stop acting like you are any better."

The blonde winced at her words. She hated that this was bringing out the old neurotic and bitchy Caroline Forbes.

"You know what, I'm going to go." Elena said angrily, immediately releasing her grip from Caroline's hands.

Without another word, the brunette headed towards the door.

"Elena wait..." Caroline said weakly, while pursuing her.

"Go to New Orleans."

With that said, Elena slammed the front door in Caroline's face.


End file.
